And the First-Ever Trillionaire is ... Elon Musk!

It has finally come to pass; the first trillionaire in the history 

of the world has just been recognized and acknowledged. 

It was not that many years ago that it was a very big deal 

when a millionaire achieved his billionaire milestone,

and not many more years earlier when someone became a

millionaire was that a reason to stop the presses. But at long 

last someone has achieved a sensational, astounding, 

earth-shaking, mind-boggling feat that many for years thought

was both out of reach and out of the realm of possibility:

billionaire and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk ascended to the 

peak on June 12.

Musk became the history-maker on the strength of the IPO

of his company, SpaceX, which began trading on the NASDAQ

at $150 per share, giving the firm an almost $2 trillion market 

cap. Forbes Magazine, which has been the chronicler of the rise

and fall of fortunes across generations of families, industries, 

and nations, estimates that the IPO raised Musk's fortune to

$1.1 trillion, just after his new worth rose to $982 billion on

Thursday June 11 when SpaceX priced the IPO at $135 per share,

thus declaring Musk the world's first trillionaire. 

Most of the Musk fortune is "on paper", which is to say that said 

worth is not easily liquid, able to convert into cash. Musk owns

4.8 billion shares of SpaceX, presently worth $715 billion, and 

has another 350 million stock options worth $50 billion which 

gives him a 38% stake in the company.

Musk made his debut on Forbes' yearly World's Billionaires list 

in 2012, Musk then having an estimated $2 billion fortune. 

From this mark, showing Musk to be the 634th-richest person 

in the world, he took a mere nine years to rocket to the top spot

as the world's wealthiest person as Tesla's shares shot upward,

Tesla being Musk's automobile manufacturing company.

Such a feat can only happen in a free market economy. In this kind

of economy there are less fetters applied by the state in the forms of 

regulations and taxes and a greater understanding of how these things

factor into the ability of the economy to grow and create careers with

many job opportunities for people willing to learn and apply new skills

and to work at jobs which with said requirements will match the very

skills learned. 

As for the employees of Elon Musk, his building his incredible 

gigantic business holdings, made possible only by virtue 

of his revenue and profits generated in the process has made many 

of them wealthy themselves; some were made millionaires and 

a few were made billionaires. And the demand for the products 

Elon Musk's businesses supply to his customers make a connection

which benefits both customers and Musk's companies; the customers 

get high-quality products, i.e Tesla automobiles, while Musk and his

employees get a steadily-growing flow of revenue from which they

derive and receive considerable income as their reward for providing

aforementioned high-quality products to a public that desires them.

This is how the free market works, and why it is superior to any and 

all other markets in the world.

In a socialist economy, in fascist economies and in communist 

economies people cannot go into business for themselves and build

large and extremely profitable companies like Elon Musk built.

Any and all businesses would be subjected to stringent regulations 

and exorbitant taxation, the former to bring the entrepreneurs'  

businesses under greater control of the state while the latter siphons 

great sums of revenue into the coffers of the government. If any of 

the business owners don't pay up, or if they complain about the 

crushing regulations and taxes imposed on them, the state grabs their 

businesses and imprisons their owners; in communist-run countries  

they simply grab the businesses anyway, as private ownership and 

enterprise is absolutely forbidden. And the only ones in these woeful

places with any significant money are the government elites, 

including a few apparatchiks (high-ranking officials and senior 

bureaucrats in the government). About quality of products made

(whenever any are made at all), forget it. Slipshod-made junk,

snapped up by a public not given any meaningful choices in 

the marketplaces but lots of said junk and lots more empty store 

shelves.

In summation, free market (or capitalist) economies encourage 

creation; in the other kinds of economies expropriating money and 

property is the order of the day --- every day. The former builds; 

the latter destroys. And Elon Musk is definitely a builder.

Congratulations Mr. Musk! You are a business and financial pioneer

soon to have many following you to the financial heights once

thought impossible to reach. Only in a free market is this possible!

Capitalism has made more people financially secure and more,

having made a middle-class and a wealthy class, with people in the

lower levels of financial status able to thus climb up to the middle-

class and those in the middle-class (and some from the lower classes)

able to reach the wealthy class and to stretch that category upward.

Let's hear it for Elon Musk and for economic freedom!

MEM

The Confiscators Are Digging In

More Democrats are getting behind the confiscation of wealth,

and Senator Elizabeth Warren must be dancing in the streets of

Washington --- especially with the news that California wants a 

piece of the action too. The very left-leaning state is preparing 

to vote in November on whether to expropriate (snatch, actually)

5% of the state's billionaires' assets, supposedly a one-time only

measure as federal transfers dissolve (so California's Democrats

say; take their word with a grain of salt!). The same story is of

course in motion in Congress, with Sen. Warren (D-MA) 

leading the charge with her plan to stick a 2% tax on all house-

hold wealth above $50 million and a 1% surtax on fortunes 

over $1 billion. These awful ideas are to fund the many entitle-

ment programs that California has to offer which the state's 

taxpayers are vehemently against being made to pay for.

It's easier to sell these schemes when the check for all this

is presented to the wealthy Californians; that's why so many

of them have packed up and left California and many more 

are soon to follow.

It must be noted, however, that confiscating billionaires' 

money is not at all a serious financial plan; wealth taxes 

have been tried in Europe and were a bust, because they 

were proven costly and unworkable. The U.S. Constitution

will be a bulwark to block their implementation here in our 

country, much to the chagrin of Sen. Warren and her chums.

Meanwhile, not only wealthy people are fleeing California,

but middle-class folk are following suit. California has 

already lost one congressional district because of the 

unrelenting taxation driving Californians out; this is 

something that the Golden State has never before experienced.

At the rate things are going, California will lose many more 

people and some more districts, and the left-wing confiscators' 

zeal will fade along with California's tax base when they 

wonder how and why this happened.

MEM

Kimmel Kicks the Working Class

President Trump recently nominated U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin

(R-OK) to replace the fired Kristi Noem to be the secretary of the

Department of Homeland Security, and Mullin was confirmed 

forthwith. Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, helming a 

failing show falling ratings and all, snidely remarked that 

"We have a plumber now protecting us from terrorism." 

Mullin's background features his having built a successful 

plumbing business. This illustrates his skill, leadership, and good

sense, three necessary things a good manager of a government 

bureaucracy needs to have any chance for success. However, 

this makes no never-mind to the snarky, snobbish, and hypocritical

fifth-rate comic and ardent left-winger Kimmel; like much of the

Left these days, Kimmel has little if any regard for the roll-up-one's

-sleeves and pitch in blue collar workers. He seems to have a cold 

contempt for these hard-working folks. 

Kimmel's background? A college dropout who makes his living 

firing political darts at conservatives, daring to call it comedy.

But he thinks he's superior to Mullin and others like him.

Many Americans make a good, honest, respectable living repairing

and/or building things for people and are worthy of respect and 

admiration. Your appreciative Peasant isn't just saying this to grab 

some glory for himself, as I once had a business of my own as a

handyman for hire. People across the country are fed up with the

Jimmy Kimmels in entertainment putting them down for being 

what they are and are showing their discontent and righteous 

anger by watching other offerings on TV or perhaps engaging 

in other activities altogether, and this is reflected in Kimmel's

ratings dwindling down to nothing.

Kimmel doesn't deserve any better, and neither do others like him.

MEM

Trump Whittles Away at Government

President Trump ran for the presidency, promising among

other things a sharp reduction in the federal government 

in both size and reach. In his second term he has succeeded

beyond the expectations of many.

The federal government now has fewer employees than at 

any time since 1966, when Lyndon Johnson grew the

bureaucracy to build his "Great Society". Over 150,000 

federal employees accepted a buyout offer from the 

Trump Administration early in Trump's current term.

Many thousands more were shown the door in lawful 

"reductions in force" with the reorganizations of agencies.

Trump recently proposed a 2027 federal budget that would 

greatly reduce non-defense discretionary spending.

This is all on the plus side of Trump's government overhaul.

However, the derivative savings would be swallowed up by 

the large-scale yet much needed defense expenditures which

are also proposed by the president. And Trump will have to 

address the matter of Medicare and Social Security and their

roles in driving gaping deficits. But seeing Trump's performance

so far your confident Peasant believes that he will find a way to

bring long-term revenues and total spending into harmony and 

balance. A challenging job to be sure, but President Trump 

has so far accomplished things that past presidents have either 

failed to do or wouldn't try to do. Stay tuned.

MEM                                         

A Horndog is Brought Down

Democrat Representative Eric Swalwell was the front-runner 

in the California gubernatorial race but very recently and 

suddenly dropped out and resigned from the House of Repre-

sentatives. He was considered a "golden boy" by many in the

California Democrat Party, especially by the Hollywood

tinsel crowd. So what happened? 

The San Francisco Chronicle and CNN (!!) published shocking

stories alleging that Swalwell had been preying serially on 

female staffers for a decade or more, with one accusing the

married father of sexual assault and another woman accused

Swalwell of assaulting her too. Although Swalwell denied 

the allegations, 21 members of Congress and most of the 

major unions involved in California politics who had been

in his corner with their support dropped Swalwell like a 

bad habit. Few of them showed any surprise at the news

regarding Swalwell, or at least they made like they were

surprised. In addition, one journalist after another along

with one insider after another stepped forward to claim 

that they, along with "everyone else", knew about 

Swalwell's piggery. They did, however, choose to hide this

knowledge for many years and would have continued to 

do so had the truth about Swalwell not come out. Such 

cowardice.

And shall we also make mention of Swalwell's affair with 

a Chinese spy whose name happened to be "Fang Fang"?

Swalwell allegedly enjoyed doing "Bang Bang" with

Fang Fang. 

It has been said that there is no honor among thieves; 

your observant Peasant would add that there is no 

honor among elitists in or tied to government either.

MEM

A Memorial Day Sign of Respect and Appreciation

Your indebted Peasant, just one American of many who owe

so much to the Americans who fought and died for our country

and for what it stands for going on 250 years, has 

an idea for the observation of this hallowed day. 

At 3:00 PM, whichever time zone you happen to be in at that 

particular time, observe the National Moment of Remembrance

which is a quiet minute set aside to pause for the duration to 

remember those who have made the Ultimate Sacrifice in 

military service to the United States. 

This is a seemingly small but hugely important and most 

respectful thing to do on Memorial Day to demonstrate a 

sign of acknowledgement of the meaning of the day. 

This is something that your caught-unaware Peasant just

recently learned, and I shall be engaging in this special act

this Memorial Day and every year going forward.

Many died so we could live free.

Freedom isn't free; freedom costs. But freedom isn't a luxury,

it's a necessity.

Thank you for your time and attention. I am most grateful.

MEM

The Latest With Judge Dugan

Judge Hannah Dugan's trial is drawing to a close 

with her sentencing date set for June 3. She was

found guilty of felony obstruction of federal 

immigration agents, which was the consequence 

of her illegal actions in the matter. Dugan was

acquitted, though, of a misdemeanor charge of

concealing a criminal. 

Dugan resigned her position from the bench on

January 3, 2026, following mounting impeachment

efforts, and in order to not forfeit her pension. 

Now a felon, her conviction carries a maximum

five-year prison sentence along with a $350,000

fine. However, federal guidelines for a 

non-violent, first time offender generally result

in probation. Yet Dugan, as a felon, can never 

again serve as a judge on any court.

The Peasant in the meantime found out that the

former judge and a friend of over fifty years 

had unfriended me on Facebook; she likely

had read my previous posts regarding her 

legal difficulties, and even though I tried not

to be too harsh on her Dugan decided to end 

our longtime friendship altogether. All I have 

left to say in parting with ex-Judge Dugan is 

wayward friend, go in peace. 

Such is justice. Such is consequence. Such is life.

MEM